BFG Podcast #061: ‘Ms. Marvel,’ ‘The Boys,’ ‘Lightyear,’…and All the Chefs

On this week’s BFG Podcast, editor Neal Pollack welcomes Lily Moayeri to town to discuss: Which superhero show should you watch with your kids, Ms. Marvel, or The Boys? The question is ironic and the answer is obvious, but the discussion is not! Lily and Neal both agree that Ms. Marvel is a charming minor-key show for kids, with a charismatic protagonist and some fun comic-book touches. Lily says, “it’s Never Have I Ever, but with superpowers.”

The Boys, on the other hand, is “a lot.” This season of Amazon Prime’s superhero action-satire triples down on the outrageousness, with one of the most disgusting setpieces in TV history within the first five minutes. Then there’s the scene where The Deep eats a live octopus, not to mention Episode 6’s insane “Herogasm” scene. Neal and Lily say: Watch The Boys. Lily warns: Do not binge-watch it, you will go insane.

Back on the lighter side of things, Stephen Garrett pops by to talk about Lightyear, a frothy concoction from Pixar that asks the important question: What was the movie starring Buzz Lightyear that Andy from Toy Story liked. Look, no one needed Lightyear. And it’s highly unlikely that a movie from 1995 would feature a Black lesbian marriage. But both Neal and Stephen agree that it’s always good when a movie features a robot pet.

Daniel Cohen puts down his napkin to come talk about cooking shows with Neal. ‘MasterChef: Back To Win” is first on the menu. Daniel is amazed that so many of the former contestants on MasterChef have found careers in the culinary world. Neal is amazed that so many people actually dream of becoming chefs. And Daniel corrects him by saying, “people dream of becoming TV chefs.” There’s a big difference.

Speaking of TV chefs, don’t sleep on ‘Iron Chef: Quest for An Iron Legend,” now streaming on Netflix. ‘The Chairman’ is in fine form this season, Neal and Daniel agree, and they both like the hosts, Alton Brown and Kristen Kish. But they also both agree that the food, with some notable exceptions, isn’t as spectacular-looking as on the old Iron Chef. And there’s some confusion as to how the show selected some of the Iron Chefs, and how the various entities competing for food TV dollars have constructed their lineups. Who gets to be an Iron Chef, and why?

Enjoy the BFG Podcast. Allez Cuisine!

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